The Gospel of the Kingdom

The Gospel of the Kingdom

The Kingdom of God begins in You

 Now when He [Jesus] was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, He answered them and said, “The kingdom of God does not come with observation; nor will they say, ‘See here!’ or ‘See there!’ For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you.” (Luke 17:20-21 NKJV)

Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the Kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the Gospel” (Mark 1:14-15 NKJV).

To repent means to “change the way you think”. It also means to turn away from sin and turn to face God. That means all your senses are now focused on God and Heaven. The people had to repent because the Kingdom of God had come to them and the King (Jesus the Christ) was standing before them but they could not perceive it. You are only conscious of what you focus on. Repenting is the beginning of becoming conscious of the King, Jesus Christ; and the Kingdom of God.

Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God.” (John 3:3 NKJV) To be born again means to be born from above. When a person hears the Gospel message and believes God then the Holy Spirit of God is joined to the spirit of the believer. But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him. (1stCorinthians 6:17 NKJV) The spiritual DNA of God is implanted into the believer. Having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever, (1 Peter 1:23 NKJV). The believer now has a new spiritual nature which desires to walk with God in love and righteousness.

It has always been God’s desire that He would live inside of you and you inside of Him in the most intimate relationship possible. The tabernacle in the Old Covenant actually represented this. In the tabernacle there was an outer court which would represent your physical body. Inside of that was the holy place which represents your soul; and inside of that was the Holy of Holies, the place where God dwells, which represents your spirit. In the new covenant you are God’s tabernacle.

You are made of spirit, soul, and body. Your body is the physical part of you. Your soul is your personality, your mind and your emotions. Your soul is your heart that is spoken of in the Bible. Your soul processes information which you receive from your physical senses and your spiritual senses. Your soul is the decision maker and it controls what you believe and what you are conscious of. Your physical body has influence on your soul through physical desires. Your spirit, which is connected to God, is conscious of God’s thoughts and feelings. God speaks to you from inside your spirit.

With God we always have freedom and we have choice. That is why a person can have a great experience with God, become born again, and then distractions from the world cause them to become unconscious of the presence of God which is in them. A person who is born again must learn to live from their spirit, not their soul and physical body. The soul still makes decisions but we must learn to make decisions in obedience to God who is living in our spirit. We must learn to be spirit controlled, not controlled by our soul or physical body, in this way we give up our will to do God’s will. However, knowing God’s love for you and because of your love for Him, submitting to Him brings great joy and peace and is a pleasure more than a sacrifice. Also, the rewards are beyond our greatest dreams and continue for eternity.

 When you are born again you are like a new born baby, spiritually. You now have God in your spirit and you are in Him, but there is a maturing process. As newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby, (1 Peter 2:2 NKJV).

Your spirit, soul and body have desires. Your physical desires are the desires of your body and are sometimes called lust of the flesh. Your soul has desires for emotional pleasure and to be honored. Pride comes from the soul along with other selfish desires. When pride is hurt it can cause anger and other bad emotions in the mind and soul of a person.

The desires that come from your spirit are God’s desires. Through your spirit you have access to the mind of Christ; which means you can access His thoughts, His feelings and His will. This is why we must learn to be led by the Spirit. The desires of the body and soul are not always bad but they must be spirit controlled so that the Kingdom of God can reign in our entire being.

Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life. And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. (Galatians 6:7-9 NKJV)

Sowing means planting, like a farmer who plants seeds in the ground. Sowing to the Spirit means doing things that increase your consciousness of the presence of God in you. When you feed your Spirit it becomes stronger and a bigger influence in your life. At the same time your physical body and soul will be easier to control because they will have less influence. Reading and listening to God’s word the Holy Bible, listening to worship music, being with other believers and discussing the goodness of God, and spending time focused on God talking to Him and listening to Him are all good ways to sow to the Spirit. Praying in the Spirit, in tongues, is a very important way to grow spiritually and expand the Kingdom of God in you and around you.

Love creates a place for God to occupy. When we love God we also love His words. We keep His words and treasure them in our heart because they are spirit and life to our entire being; spirit, soul and body.

Jesus says, “He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.” Judas (not Iscariot) said to Him, “Lord, how is it that You will manifest Yourself to us, and not to the world?” Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.” (John 14:21-23 NKJV).

The Kingdom of God is the realm that is subject to the King. The Kingdom of God begins in your spirit and as you learn to keep God’s words and walk in obedience to Him then the Kingdom of God expands to include your soul and then your physical body. The law of obedience is that who you obey is who you belong to. Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness? (Romans 6:16 NKJV) When Jesus Christ is King of your life then you will begin expanding the Kingdom of God on earth as it is in Heaven.

 For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together. (Romans 8:13-17 NKJV) Jesus is our great example of becoming a Spirit led person. And the Child grew and became strong in spirit, filled with wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him. (Luke 2:40 NKJV)

I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. (Galatians 2:20 NKJV)

Abstain from every form of evil. Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it. (1 Thessalonians 5:22-24 NKJV)